Italian Phrase
Il router fa i capricci, ci sono troppi dispositivi.
Meaning
The sentence means that the Wi‑Fi router is misbehaving because there are more devices connected than it can handle. It conveys a mild frustration and points to overload as the cause.
When to use
Use this phrase when you’re troubleshooting home or office internet problems, especially when you suspect the network is slow or dropping because many phones, laptops, and smart gadgets are connected at once.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Ilrouterfaicapricci,cisonotroppidispositivi.
fa i capricci
Literally ‘does the whims’, this idiom means ‘to act up’ or ‘to be temperamental’. It is used with any object that can misbehave, not just people.
ci sono + plural noun
The construction ‘ci sono’ introduces the existence of something in the plural. It is the equivalent of English ‘there are’.
troppi + noun
‘Troppi’ is the plural form of ‘troppo’ (too many/too much) and must agree in gender and number with the noun that follows.
borrowed tech nouns
Words like ‘router’ are borrowed from English and keep their original spelling, but they are pronounced according to Italian phonetics.
🗨In Conversation
Il router fa i capricci, ci sono troppi dispositivi.
The router is acting up; there are too many devices.
Allora proviamo a scollegare qualche cosa o a comprare un range extender.
Then let’s try unplugging a few things or get a range extender.
✕Common Mistakes
Il router fa i capricci.
Do not translate literally as ‘does the whims’; it’s an idiom meaning ‘acts up’. Using ‘fa i capricci’ with a person is fine, but with a router it conveys a casual tone.
Il router fa i capricci, ci sono troppo dispositivi.
Remember to match number; ‘troppi’ is plural. Saying ‘troppo dispositivi’ is incorrect.
Il router fa i capricci, sono troppi dispositivi.
Avoid omitting ‘ci’ – ‘sono troppi dispositivi’ sounds like a statement about the devices, not about their existence.
↔Alternatives
Il router è instabile, ci sono troppi dispositivi collegati.
The router is unstable; there are too many devices connected.
Il segnale del router è debole perché ci sono troppi dispositivi in rete.
The router’s signal is weak because there are too many devices on the network.
Il router non regge, ci sono troppi gadget connessi.
The router can’t cope; there are too many gadgets connected.
Cultural Tip
In Italian tech conversations, it’s common to blend English loanwords (router, Wi‑Fi, gadget) with native idioms like ‘fa i capricci’. The phrase is informal but perfectly acceptable in everyday speech; in a formal report you’d replace ‘fa i capricci’ with ‘presenta malfunzionamenti’. Also, Italians often use ‘gadget’ or ‘dispositivi’ interchangeably when talking about phones, tablets, smart TVs, etc.